Regi Model Town remain uncompleted after 28 years

PESHAWAR: The oldest and largest housing society of government employees at Peshawar Regi Model Town (RMT) could not be completed even passage of almost 28 years. Most of the employees who got plots in 1993 have died but their children have not yet got possession of the plots. The government has so far been able to open only two out of five zones in the housing society, but both zones also lack basic amenities.

The PTI is in power since 2013 in KP but it couldn’t be able to settle the long-standing dispute of three zones of RMT. Authority has not built a single hospital in the whole society while Zone-IV has not a single mosque. Reggie Model Town residents are paying their gas bills at the LNG expensive tariff.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan while chairing board meeting, a copy of which is available with this scribe, directed the authorities to propose a way forward for dealing with the tribe to clear the zone 2 and 5 till April 30, 2021. The committee included Commissioner Peshawar, DG PDA, DC Peshawar, and DC Khyber but so far no progress has been made. He further instructed the authorities of district Peshawar and Khyber to finalize the demarcation of Mafee Griffith Line to settle the issue one for all. He was assured that rapid development/construction is taking place in sectors of zone 1, 3, and 4.

Peshawar Development Authority Director General Ammara Khan told this scribe that on the directives of the Chief Minister, PDA is focused to hand over possession of zone 1 to the allottees. PC-1 of amounting to Rs117 million has been approved for resurfacing of roads in various sectors of zone 1, 3, and 4. PDA is now in the process of awarding the tender for the installation of the street lights.

She said that tender has been issued for the construction of three mosques in zones three and four. Tenders for two primary schools and one BHU have also been advertised amounting to Rs39 million. Design for the entrance gate has also been finalized and work on the same will begin soon.

PDA recently handed over the possession of two primary schools and one BHU to the Education and Health Department respectively. “Commissioner Peshawar has taken both Khyber and Peshawar district administration on board for resolution of the dispute related to Maffey Griffith Line once resolved this will result in resolving the long-standing dispute of Zone 2 and 5,” she said.

DG said a meeting on Regi Model Town issues was held under the chairmanship of Advisor to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehzad Arbab. He will take up the issue of electricity in the Ministry of Water and Power for the installation of a separate grid station.

KP government announced housing society for government employees in 1993 and received down payment and installments timely. Peshawar Development Authority had allotted around 29 thousand plots to government servants in different zones of the housing society. Regi Model Town consists of five zones in which five, ten, and one canal plots have been allotted to government employees through balloting.

The ANP government had initiated the process of handing over the possession of plots in Zone 3 and Zone 4 in 2008. A social worker Nawab Khattak got the first possession of his plot in the society and the then Minister for local government Shaheed Bashir Bilour handed over the possession letter for the construction of the house. Saleem Hassan Wattoo, former Director General of the PDA under the previous PTI government built the main roads of Zones 3 and 4 in 2016 through FWO. The beautification project was carried in the same tenure and even SNGPL started laying gas pipelines during 2016-17. “For what crime are government employees being punished despite paying plot money in 1993? We dreamed of building a house here but it did not come true. Now our children are worried whether they will get possession of the plot,” one allottee Farman told this scribe.

He said unfortunately I got a plot in zone 5; it seems it would not be handed over to me in my life. Maybe my kids can build a house in Reggie Model Town. Prime Minister Imran Khan is building 10 million houses, let give us possession of our plot.

Delay in completion of housing scheme has been blamed on the land dispute for which dozens of meetings and jirgas have been held but no solution has been found. The government claims that the owners have been paid, while the Koki Khel tribes say they own the land and should be paid. Due to the land dispute, government employees could not get possession of their plots despite paying the price for 28 years.